Princes of the Universe - Book 3: Clubs
by PocketHero
Summary: There is no Queen. She died. She died in the middle of the night.She died when the clock struck twelve. She died when he did. When he was murdered. Assassinated; by a ruthless savage. There is no Queen. I died when he did. Tragic tale of a broken lover avenging murder at any cost. AusHun and PruHun [Rated M] Mature Themes and Violence. Book 3 in POTU. Enjoy this terrible tragedy.


**Hetalia!Cardverse**

**AusHun & PruHun**

**[Rated M]**

**Violence, Coarse Language, Frightening Themes, Sexual References.**

**'Book 3' in the 'Princes of the Universe' Series**

**Enjoy 'Clubs' :)**

* * *

**Princes of the Universe**

**:Book 3 – **_**Clubs:**_

There is no Queen.

She died.

She died in the middle of the night.

She died when the clock struck twelve.

She died when he did.

When he was murdered. Assassinated; by a ruthless savage. He who would never know exactly how she felt…unrequited love silenced in the absence of a beating heart.

There is no Queen.

I died when he did.

Yes it was I that sat by his bedside until he exhausted his last breath… he was always dramatic like that. I suppose that's why I was so desperately in love with him.

He didn't die straight away… there was a commotion and whoever the assassin was; missed, they missed their mark. The knife missed his neck and buried itself; like a dart in a cork board, into his forehead.

Everyone was in court that day before it happened. We were discussing the importance of building our security within the Kingdom. How ironic. How painfully ironic.

I sat in my throne peering mindlessly out into the crowd of familiar faces, to me it all appeared as a mix between pink and green. A field of soft green grass and pink blossom… my fingers tapped against the arm of my throne; pattering like the percussive pittering of raindrops against my window late at night, a comforting sound to my ears.

Ivan's voice kept moving on… and on… and on like a dreary moan of creaking wood. Ivan Braginsky. King of Clubs. I swear that man is the most mundane human on the face of this earth. All he ever talks about is Clubs this Clubs that… and when he doesn't talk about the economy or our Kingdom which we share in power due to our family's continued friendship since the dawn of time itself. They wanted us to marry each other. That wasn't going to happen… I had other… more important things on my mind.

My fingertips began to tap something softer than my throne. I turned my head. A hand had slipped its way beneath mine and rested itself on the throne. I looked up and before I could open my mouth a voice mumbled quietly; a voice that had made me shiver and prickle with a peculiar excitement, a voice that I knew all too well, "Your finger drumming your majesty was getting rather loud… beg my pardon but you may drum your fingers upon my hand if you wish" I smiled and slid my own between the cold long fingers of a musician.

"Now why would I do that to you my dear…" I chuckled beneath my breath as not to distract Ivan too much with my more interesting preoccupation.

Roderich Edelstein. Jack of Clubs.

His violet eyes skimmed over the court in front of us. He was always so refined. He was such an asset to the Kingdom… he was the only reason our Kingdom received the title of the Cultural Capital of the world. Every single say of the week there was something going on. Mondays an orchestral concert in the large concert hall in the heart of our Kingdom. Tuesdays was dedicated to open air theatre in the gardens of our Castle of Clubs. Wednesdays was a fine foods festival which usually ended up in a community dance in the square. Thursday was the exotic arts market in the square following the morning of the fine foods. Friday was a huge celebration to celebrate the end of the working week where everyone would cook for everyone and the big band of every instrument you could think of would play while the whole Kingdom was emblazoned with laughs and colour. Saturday was an opera. Sunday was for the artists; they would set up their canvases in the square and showcase their artwork to the citizens. And then it started all over again.

Ivan couldn't stand the constant chitter chatter of the citizens using the castle as if it were a tourism spot. Occasionally he would loiter out for a while and graze over what was going on… but then he would retreat back into his bedroom; where he sits over a desk and a small candle scribbling away at god knows what. Perhaps that is why his skin and hair is so pale… he doesn't get out much in the months other than Winter.

To hell with Ivan. I'll be damned if I have to marry that old lout.

His eyes flicked over to my hand entwined with Roderich's. But he made no other advance. He didn't care really. We weren't bound to each other by law or anything, "you can do what you like" he would say when I asked him if he was okay with it. Not because I wanted to… because my parents forced me to. Because they wanted him to force me into marriage like he would force citizens into jail; because they were desperate, simple solution for him. The crime rates were at their lowest percentage though… so I couldn't complain. Even though he was sending small children and old ladies into jail… I couldn't complain. I was safe. And so was Roderich.

I loved Roderich more than anything.

I remember the first time we met… it was like yesterday.

Crisp winter breeze nipping at my nose as I scuffed my feet through the scummy mixture between mud, ice and snow. My hands dug deep into my pockets. For many years I was convinced I was a man and my parents were too oblivious to tell I was a girl, they treated me as a son. Things were better that way too… they were trying hard to get a daughter to marry the Braginski's son, so that they could slip their way into the monarchy. Selfish.

So my hair was short and filthy… though still a noble I liked to think I was normal like the other kids. I was groaning and mumbling about how much my chest hurt that day, I thought I was getting a chest infection or something… turns out it was puberty. Something sharp hit me in the back of the head. I turned around only to be hit in the face by a chunk of coal. I dabbed my lip were I was hit. Yes I was bleeding a bit. The two older boys who were throwing coal at me continued laughing and throwing it at me. I weaved and ducked past the next few pieces with ease. But I couldn't see the next thing coming. They ran up and knocked me over into the snow, "hah! How'd ya like that now? Couldn't duck that could ya ducky!" I tried to lift my face out of the snow but the other younger one pushed it deeper. I couldn't breathe. My arms and legs flailing hopelessly.

"We got bored… so we thought you'd be a good bit of fun to toss 'bout eh?" My brain began to start fizzling out. Until… that voice.

"How dare you treat a lady in such a fashion, you should be ashamed of yourselves…" he snarled as the weight keeping me down in the snow was lifted.

"Lady? This aint no lady mate!" rolled over onto my back immediately and gasped for the sharp air. My eyes were blurred but I could see quite clearly the slim, taller figure holding the boys by the collars and scolding them.

"I'll think you'll find it is. She has the eyes of a maiden and without the dirt you can see her face is much fairer than you scoundrels… now off with you! Before I call the authorities" I was pulled out of the snow into the arms of my saviour. The warmth of blood re-entering my skull dizzied me and so I tumbled into the chest of this boy, "steady now… you'll be feeling ill. Take deep breaths and walk with me… I'll get you safe, Ducky"

I was thirteen… and he was seventeen.

He was the first one to figure out I was a female. Before I believed it myself even. All the girls at school teased me because he was so much older than I was… we weren't even dating. He was my teacher. My friend. He taught me the manners of a lady living among nobles, whether I chose to use them or not was not his problem. At least I had the choice. He taught me how to eat. How to speak. How to walk. How to act. How to dance. How to appreciate the beauty in the world.

I was sixteen… and he was twenty one.

He was to be married. To some other aristocrat in a far off Kingdom. I was heartbroken.

"This will be our last lesson together Lizzie…" that's what he called me. Lizzie. When no one else was around of course. He was the one to give me my female name… considering he was the one to discover my real gender. My old name was Eldon Héderváry. But now I was Elizibeta. Lady Elizibeta Hedervary. Lizzie, to him. And only him.

Ivan called me Lizzie once. I slapped him across the face.

But when I heard it would be our last lesson together, Roderich and I were walking through the Castle gardens of Clubs. He was already the Jack of Clubs at this time and had to hand in his resignation due to his family's decision to sell him out like a cow at a fair. The spring sun was soft and warm… like his smile… which was painfully absent from his face.

The flowers were just beginning to bloom and the whole Kingdom was coloured in pastel. I gripped his forearm tighter when I heard this news. He looked down at me. I tried to hide my face beneath my spring bonnet my mother had cemented to my head with a series of navy ranked knots… so I couldn't take it off, "why the tough grip? I know you are strong Liz… but that was unlike you?" He stopped walking, "is there something wrong?"

"Not at all Roderich. I-"

"Now don't lie to me that contradicts everything I have taught you Lady. Tell me. What troubles you?" He took a light hold of my cold hands and recoiled slightly in surprise, "by god, Lizzie your hands are freezing! Why did you not tell me this? You might catch your death out here if you're not careful. Di dyou not bring a jacket?"

"I am fine. Stop fussing." Roderich began to unbutton his bright green tailcoat.

"Madam I must insist that you bring something to put over your shoulders next time! How irresponsible of you!" I shot a look colder than ice up into his face.

"Put your god. Damn. Coat back on you fool!" Roderich swallowed his words and began to button up his coat again, "I swear this is so unlike YOU to fuss over me as if I were ten… I'm younger than you but I can ensure you mate that I ain't a child anymore! Got it!?" My lady like language began to deteriorate as I became for furious with him. For leaving. For fussing. For being Roderich. I began to rip at the ribbon tied beneath my chin keeping the godforsaken bonnet on that made me look as if I were a little girl. I was sixteen… and he was twenty one. And he was treating me as if I were six. I ripped the bonnet off and threw it onto the ground, "I am sixteen! I am a woman now of you hadn't noticed mister Roderich aul tutor sir!" He looked down at me slightly shocked but had a slight twinge of predictablility in his eyes. He knew me like he knew Bach. Back to front and inside out. I wouldn't let him leave without putting up a fight, "you may be leavin' for god knows where! To be sold off to a pretty old woman who will be wrinkling up like a prune soon enough! An aul poodle of aristocracy! Groomed from birth like a princess! And to hell if she is a princess, you can't let your family boot you out and sell you off like that! What happened to the ol' Roddy I knew eh? The one who would stand up and fight for what he believed in… God I dunno Roderich sir I dunno what to think anymore sir…" tears began to prickle at the corner of my eyes. I turned my face away and hid my eyes. I couldn't let Roderich see me crying like a baby or he will fuss over me more than he already had. I refused to be fussed over.

"Elizibeta-" he extended a hand to me in a kind gesture of assistance. I pushed it away.

"I don't care for anything you have to say… you poodle you…" I called my tutor a poodle. How unlady like indeed. I took a deep breath of spring flowers into my lungs and blinked a few times pulling my hands away from my eyes and resuming my normal posture, "I'm sorry Roderich sir. You will have to excuse me for but a moment…" I tried to walk away at a fast pace holding my head up high as he taught me.

He latched onto my elbow. Swinging me back into his chest. Cushioning me.

"Liz. I'm not that foolish." I turned my head up at his face peering down at me from such a long way. His mouth was downturned, "do I look like I want to marry a pussycat of foreign nobility? Do I look like I want to leave my position here at Clubs Castle?" he smiled softly, "I'm not leaving. Lizzie, I'm not going anywhere… trust me." My eyes widened.

"But-but you said? Today was our last lesson! But bu-"

"You still haven't learnt to stop making assumptions out of turn." He sighed exasperatedly. A gust of wind masked his sigh, "but indeed. Today is our last lesson together Lizzie… as tutor and student our relationship has most indeed come to a novel ending" he leant down as if to pick up my crumpled bonnet for me embedded into the soft grass. But instead he stroked my hand and raised it to his lips; pressing them lightly against my flesh, causing me to inhale sharply in shock. He looked up through his glasses at me, "but our relationship as my _personal_ mistress is yet to begin… if you will have me of course m'lady?"

So it happened. In early spring sunshine our relationship as mutual lovers began.

I was sixteen… and he was twenty one.

The fond memory echoed in his violet stare in court that day. I remembered everything… and we had come so far.

I was twenty one… and he was twenty six.

I thought he was the grandest gentleman that ever lived. And he couldn't take his eyes off me…

Ivan continued to ramble on about boring things that were uninteresting to me like, "although the guards are not paid so much, they are rewarded constantly with the smallest percentage of taxes we could make available to the citizens… we had cut them in half twice and aimed for the lowest target possible. Having this small percentage we were able to eradicate all competition in other Kingdoms" and so on and so forth.

He traced his long pianist fingers across the lines and cracks in my hand. It was very recently he heard the news too… my mind was buzzing with the excitement too. He was beaming.

There was a small burst of wind. A whistling.

Roderich turned to me and mumbled something in my ear, "what about th-"

He tumbled backwards.

There were screams and yells and scattering feet.

All I could hear was silence. Screaming in my ears like my voice… far… far away. In the distance.

A dagger buried in the side of his forehead.

I clutched the edge of my throne desperately. My mouth moved but no words came out.

Your body lay limp and loose like a puppet.

The knife had severely damaged your frontal lobe of your brain. No he wasn't dead… but he might as well have been. To me.

Days and nights were spent sitting by his bed… listening to him babble brainlessly with a terrible slur. As if he were severely drunk… everyday… every night. Sometimes I would enter his room and he would be sitting at the piano playing the same one note repeatedly. Slamming his hands on the keys in frustration… the piano was his life. It was how he expressed himself. How he felt. And sometimes I would come into his room at night and lay beside him as he slept, when Roderich slept it appeared to me that there was nothing wrong. That he remembered how to play every single Chopin piece imaginable like he used to. That he would correct me on my speech like he used to. That he would touch me in unimaginable ways like he used to…

His condition deteriorated.

He forgot who I was.

Eventually he would compulsively thrash out and hit people by accident.

Ivan tried all he could to fix Roderich. To save the Kingdom's economy he needed to save Roderich.

My teacher. My friend. My lover…

I sat beside him. I watched him fall asleep. The bulge in the left side of his head had grown. The doctors said there was a mutation during the brains healing process and that there was now a tumour developing instead of brain tissue needed to heal him. There was no way around it.

The doctor left me alone with Roderich.

His breath warm and delicate against my hand.

By next week there would be resemblance of my teacher's old personality.

He would be just another lost, lame human. Damaged beyond repair.

I stroked my hand across the side of his cheek. Feeling the warmth of his skin beneath my fingertips. The velvety consistency. The heat of his heartbeat.

Then I felt the scar. The lumpy bump in his head… I exhaled hotly. Softly as not to wake him.

I reached for a pillow. I clutched it to my chest. Taking one last longing glance at the sleeping man. Before I covered his face with the soft fabric and pushed, "Good night, Roderich sir… I hope you sleep well, my sweet…" his body squirmed for a moment and I pushed harder.

Five minutes… the clock struck midnight before his body relaxed and drifted deeply into an unwakeable slumber. I dropped the pillow onto the floor before taking his cheek in my hand. Feeling to cooling of his skin beneath my fingertips. The chill of silence.

I placed my other hand on my bulging stomach.

"I'll tell him all about you…I promise…

… _I'll tell him all about his Daddy"_


End file.
